In 2015, a Portland-based psychiatrist wrote a curious email to Jeffrey Epstein.

“Jeffrey, I found the time spent with you to be enjoyable and fascinating, and I appreciate your hospitality.”

The email came from Dr. Paul M. Conti, a psychiatrist and author in Portland who’s been praised by clients like Lady Gaga and Tommy Hilfiger for his breakthrough work on healing trauma. 

Dr. Conti appears to have met and coordinated with Jeffrey Epstein off and on about a decade ago. The US Department of Justice’s recent release of additional documents related to the sex trafficker and convicted sex offender shows email correspondence from 2015 to 2017 between Epstein and Conti. The emails indicate Epstein was introduced to Conti by a mutual acquaintance, and Epstein arranged for him to treat a female friend of his during Conti’s occasional trips to New York. 

Conti and Epstein communicated via email in 2015 via Dr. Peter Attia, a renowned health and longevity researcher, influencer, and author who’s made frequent guest appearances as a contributor to CBS News. Records indicate Conti was introduced to Epstein by Attia before the emails about psychiatric care began. 

“Jeffrey has a friend he'd like you to possibly help with,” Attia wrote to Conti on October 8, 2015. Two hours later, Epstein notified Conti that he’d passed Conti’s email address on to someone he described as “a tiny woman, weighs [redacted] pounds, is taking 30 mg cymbalta, has trouble getting motivated, suffers anxiety, and is not doing well.”

“thanks bill me of course,” Epstein added.

The records aren’t an indication of wrongdoing, and Conti hasn’t been accused of any crimes. But the physician’s involvement with a convicted sex offender raises questions about whether Conti was legitimately treating and billing patients in accordance with privacy laws and medical ethics, and whether he knew about Epstein’s sex trafficking activities at the time.

Conti didn’t respond to the Mercury’s inquiries and requests for comment. His medical practice, Pacific Premier Group, also did not return the Mercury’s requests for a phone call Tuesday. 

Conti treats patients throughout the United States, including in New York and Oregon, the location of his primary practice, according to his online bio. He was licensed with the Oregon Medical Board in 2007 and continues to work as a psychiatrist in Portland through Pacific Premier Group, a practice he founded in 2014.

While the records don't paint a definitive picture of Conti's involvement with Epstein or the relationship between Epstein and the patient, a 2016 email exchange suggests Epstein may have been providing living arrangements for her. The emails show an unidentified woman gave Epstein the rundown on her therapy appointments with Conti “every 2-3 weeks,” her school schedule, and consultations with a doctor about freezing her eggs. 

Note: Excerpts included in this story have been edited to remove symbols and characters that were likely errors introduced in the files during retrieval and conversion.

Epstein told the woman he “might be giving up the [apartments]” and needed to discuss plans with her. 

“I am applying for internships so that I will have some work, but that can be sorted around whether you need me. Thought it best to apply anyway,” the woman told Epstein in March 2016. “I understand completely. Maybe it will be less stress for you. And less risk. I'll move in with you. Just joking... I will have to find something.”

Another email from an unknown sender to Epstein in 2016 suggests Conti was at least aware of Epstein’s lifestyle, influence, and leverage over others.

“Conti said that the fact that Jeffrey can have anyone around him and that he chooses me speaks volumes to his character 😄😄 ( I thought it was he other way around)( we are lucky to have each other,” the sender wrote.

Around the same time, Epstein sent an email to an unknown sender about an acquaintance of Conti's from Harvard.

“Conti wants to set me up with him in link below rick/Richard gerson," the sender replied to Epstein. "I am s0000 nervous, he's like a real adult 😳”

Authorities first began investigating Epstein, the financier and investor, in 2005 after police got reports of underage girls being hired to work at his mansion to give sexual massages.

After working out a questionable deal with federal prosecutors to avoid a federal criminal case, Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to one count of soliciting prostitution and another count of soliciting prostitution from a minor. He was sentenced to 18 months in jail, but managed to serve the bulk of his sentence under a work release program that allowed him to come and go from custody. He was later indicted on federal sex trafficking charges in 2019. Epstein was found dead in a New York jail cell about a month after his arrest. His death was ruled a suicide.

Epstein’s emails not only shed light on his prolific operations, they unveiled several powerful, high-profile clients and cronies from the likes of Donald Trump and Bill Gates, to the former Prince Andrew. Multiple messages between Epstein and his celebrity clientele were coded with euphemisms for the purposes of arranging sexual encounters with women–many of them underage. 

Conti’s name and email correspondence appears in three heavily redacted data sets released by the US Department of Justice. According to the records, Dr. Conti corresponded with Epstein between 2015 and 2017 regarding psychiatric treatment that Epstein arranged and agreed to pay for on behalf of a young woman. The emails made no mention of consent on behalf of the patient to arrange care or release sensitive medical information to Epstein. Several of the messages were interspersed with personal, friendly greetings to Epstein from Conti.

What the records show

Conti’s response to the initial email exchange suggests he maintained a more personal relationship with Epstein. 

“Jeffrey, I found the time spent with you to be enjoyable and fascinating, and I appreciate your hospitality. I welcome helping your friend if I can. Would you like to set something up through assistants, or let me know a few days/times that would work for you? Thanks very much,” Conti wrote.

Conti again replied to Epstein noting he’d made contact with the female friend and would arrange an appointment with her during an upcoming trip to New York. “I appreciate your trust, and will take the best care of her that I can,” Conti told Epstein.

The two corresponded via email again on October 20 to discuss a treatment plan, billing rates, and appointment length for a patient who was later referred to in different emails as “Susan.” Conti confirmed Epstein would pay for everything privately at a rate of $1,500 for a 90-minute intake, and $800 per hour thereafter. Conti concluded the email with a personal note to Epstein. “And, as its [sic] no surprise that you are a fascinating guy to talk to, if you are interested in meeting again under whatever circumstances you might prefer, please let me know!” Conti wrote.

Conti’s name appears again in an email sent from an unknown sender to Epstein on October 20 with the subject “thank you.”

“Just saw Paul conti, he was amazing! Spoke to me for 2.5 hours and wouldn't charge me. Thank you Jeffrey 💖” the sender wrote to Epstein.

Records show Conti and Epstein corresponded briefly again on October 21 and October 27.

“Thank you for your confidence regarding [redacted.] I absolutely believe that I know how to both understand and help her, and will do my best,” Conti wrote to Epstein. “Please email or call any time … Given the financial cycle of a small business, I usually invoice monthly. If that sounds okay, I can forward it on to you however you prefer. I will be in New York again the week of November 8, and I believe my assistant has already scheduled. Hope you are well.”

Epstein responded with a terse reply: “what ever you and [redacted] work out ok with me.”

Other communication suggests the patient in question may have been a college student, or someone around that age. On October 23, Epstein received an email from a sender, presumably the person he arranged treatment for. 

“Thank you my dear Jeffrey, I met with him this morning and I must say that I never imagined speaking to someone could calm me like it does. He gave me [redacted]... They are called [redacted]. Not a long term fix but work instantly on my [redacted] so I think they can be helpful for now,” the sender wrote. “....He is really smart and helps me to see things in a very different light and he is very kind and empathetic. My concern is the cost and that I feel uncomfortable putting this on you. Two things I can do is speak to aetna(my school medical aid) and ask my mother if she would be able to assist in some way.”

Epstein replied, “I’m not worried about the money no problem.”

Conti reached out to Epstein again on November 1 to check in. 

The subject of health insurance never came up in initial emails between Epstein and Conti about billing rates. Epstein readily agreed to pay for the young woman’s treatment out of his own pocket, though messages from November 2015 show Conti’s executive assistant at Pacific Premier reached out to a person named Susan via email with receipts for visits with Dr. Conti. The trove of files contains several digital documents with inconsistent redactions, but the name Susan was used again in at least one other email exchange between Conti and Epstein. The recipient replied a few days later noting she was trying to submit receipts to Aetna, her health insurer. 

At one point, Richard Kahn of HBRK Associates–an accounting firm associated with Epstein’s financial transactions–also got involved to ask about insurance reimbursement and payment processing. Bella Klein, one of Epstein’s accountants, advised Kahn that "technical issues” were slowing down payment processing, but more information would be known the following week.

Conti reached out to Epstein again in early November to discuss the woman’s treatment and billing, and then again a few weeks later.

“I hope that you are well, and continuing your habit of intensely engaging in life!” Conti wrote to Epstein on November 16, 2015. “I just want you to know that I believe [redacted] has done a lot of good work in just a few sessions,” Conti wrote to Epstein. “The key, as often if not always, [is] self-understanding, so that intentional choices can be made in the context of clarity (or as close to clarity as humans can get.) Please let me know if you have any questions/concerns, and I will continue to do the best that I can for her.” The email includes Conti’s professional signature, including his name, employer, and the address where he practices in Portland.

The Mercury consulted with licensed mental health professionals on background who suggested the arrangement is somewhat unusual. The informal communication about services rendered, and frequent discussion of private patient information and treatment plans with Epstein suggests an atypical scenario. Physicians are required by law to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which prohibits doctors from disclosing patients’ medical information or treatment plans to others without the patient’s knowledge or consent. It’s not clear from the emails whether the patient granted that consent.

Perhaps more unusual is an email Conti sent to Epstein in 2016, in which Conti appeared to reach out to Epstein unprompted to solicit new clients and update him on what he described as a new consulting business. 

“I hope that you are well. I'm not sure if you remember me; I'm the psychiatrist who visited you about this time last year with Peter Attia (who, as you may know, is now on Easter Island digging around for bacteria, further proving that he is anything but your average human being!) I appreciate that you supported my work with Susan, and I do believe that I have been helpful to her. She is such a lovely person, and it is a pleasure to work with her,” Conti wrote. “I don't want to bug you, and am just checking in with you, in case you have anyone else you might want me to work with. I am also doing business consulting around executive assessment, hiring decisions, problem solving, and performance optimization—probably not something you need, but I figure it can't hurt to let you know! Please let me know if any of the above is of interest.”

The Oregon Medical Board declined to answer specific questions about professional standards and conduct, but a spokesperson indicated the Board relies on the American Medical Association’s Code of Ethics for licensed physicians. Oregon also maintains its own statements of philosophy regarding the practice of medicine. 

State and national rules dictate how physicians should advertise their services and handle patient referrals to and from other doctors. Oregon laws stipulate that “employing any person to solicit patients for the licensee” aside from a professional organization is grounds for license suspension, but the statutes don’t mention whether a licensed physician can solicit clients directly from friends or acquaintances. 

The American Psychiatric Association could not be reached for comment or questions about its professional standards. 

In November 2016, Conti’s name appears in a cryptic email to Epstein from an unknown sender who said: “Rick texted saying ‘Paul (conti) says great things about you’” followed by “Conti says we are both good, kind people and he's only [done] this once before in 15 year career.”

The context of that email is unclear. 

The DOJ records released last week also show Conti and Epstein connected again in June 2017 via Conti’s executive assistant at Pacific Premier Group. The assistant reached out to Epstein to arrange a time for him and Dr. Conti to talk by phone. It appears to be one of the last times the two emailed each other.

“Chat?” Epstein wrote to Conti in an email with no other message.